Written by

Jamie Samuelsen

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the “Jamie and Wojo” show at 6 p.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen and read more of his opinions at freep.com/jamie.

Tigers closer Jose Valverde blew his first save of the season and the Indians took two of three over the weekend. Nothing to be concerned with, right?

Juan Ponce de León and Jose Valverde both went to Florida, albeit at different times in history.

Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer who went searching for the “Fountain of Youth” in 16th century. And thanks to Cliff Clavin, he remained relevant well into the 20th Century.

Valverde spent a few weeks in Florida last month. And if you read any of the accounts of his time there, he found the fountain that Ponce de León was seeking. Valverde’s fastball was faster. His frame was lighter. And his splitter returned. It’s a wonder the Detroit Tigers didn’t think about sending Ryan Raburn down there last season as well. Instead, he ended up in Cleveland.

The Fountain of Youth is the stuff of lore. And so too were some of the glowing reports on Valverde. If he lost the 15 pounds, it’s not clear where (unless it’s the disappearance of his goggles). He looks like the same Papa Grande we saw last year. If he’s gotten his splitter back, we’ve haven’t seen much of it yet. In the ninth inning Sunday against the Indians, Valverde threw 29 pitches – all fastballs. And of those 29 pitches, 14 were balls. Both of those numbers are discouraging. The splitter was supposed to make Valverde a better closer, and one prone to induce more strikeouts and ground balls. And the wildness is the main thing that undid him last season leading to the colossal meltdown against the Athletics and Yankees in the postseason.

This was never going to be easy. This was never going to be perfect. When the Tigers signed Valverde to a minor league contract in early April, they weren’t hoping to get Mariano Rivera. They weren’t even hoping to get Jose Valverde from 2011. They were hoping to get a pitcher that they could title ‘closer’ who Jim Leyland could turn to in the ninth inning of close games. They’ve turned to Valverde four times in those scenarios and he’s come through with three saves. 75 percent is not going to cut it. But the odds are, that number will rise as Valverde continues to get chances.

Rivera is the best. There’s no comparing to him. The Braves amazing Craig Kimbrel has three blown saves so far. The Giants Sergio Romo has two. Valverde isn’t in their league anymore, but again he’s not expected to be. Valverde is expected to be better than Phil Coke or Bruce Rondon or Joaquin Benoit or whoever else the Tigers had to put out there at closer. And so far, he has been. Benoit’s numbers are better, but he’s never been a closer and the Tigers are clearly reluctant to try him there.

The other thing to remember about Valverde is that his successes or failures are simply a bonus to what this team was going to do this year. He was never in their plans and only worked his way in because A) Rondon struggled and B) no other team would take a chance on giving Valverde a major league contract. The Tigers took a shot with no strings attached. And so far, they’ve gotten a proper return on their investment. If he falters or outright fails, the Tigers will search for a closer through the trade market. This just tides them over until they get to that point, or it solves the problem completely.

The problem with Valverde is that he doesn’t instill confidence. If he walked in here and saved the first twenty games he closed, Tiger fans would be griping if he put runners on base in the 21st. His entrance from the bullpen never makes you think that the game is automatically over. So Sunday’s result won’t change the way fans view him. But Sunday’s appearance also won’t change the way Leyland views him. If there’s a save situation against the Astros, expect Valverde to take it.

The Valverde story will continue to play out as this season unfolds. Did anyone really think that he’d return from Florida a new man and the Tigers closer woes would be solved? I didn’t. You didn’t. And I’m guessing that the Tigers management didn’t either. They’re rolling the dice and seeing what happens. They’re smart to do it and they stand to lose nothing by seeing what Valverde has left. If it doesn’t work out, the Tigers will move on to Plan C. Because Plan B (Valverde) has worked out pretty well so far.